Future Isn't Now For Festival Stars Roberts Selects Florida State

Weinke Weighs 20 College Offers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Floridian Chris Roberts already has made the tough decision. Minnesotan Chris Weinke must agonize over his in the next year.

Roberts recently chose to play college baseball at Florida State, turning downa $100,000 offer from the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him in the second round.

Weinke, generally considered one of the nation's top three or four high school football prospects at quarterback, must choose between college football or baseball, or professional baseball.

Roberts, 18, is from Middleburg. Weinke, which rhymes with lanky, turns 17 this week, is from Cretin Derham High in St. Paul, the same school that sent Steve Walsh to the University of Miami.

Roberts believes he has made the right decision. Weinke is hopeful for a compromise that would allow him to play both sports in college.

As the U.S. Olympic Festival fades into memories, Roberts and Weinke have picked up Team USA uniforms to represent the United States at the World Junior Baseball Championships in Three Rivers, Quebec, Canada, Aug. 9-22.

''This Festival is more than I thought it would be,'' Roberts said. ''Just a chance to play for the U.S., to represent your country, it's something.''

Weinke will miss the first week of football conditioning, which begins in Minnesota on Aug. 15, the same starting date as Florida's high schools.

''I don't think they will change the offense much,'' Weinke joked.

Both were among the most impressive batters at the Festival. Roberts tied the Festival record for doubles with four and had seven hits in four games. Weinke's dramatic, two-out, three-run, 400-foot home run gave his North team the gold medal.

Roberts' reputation in Florida was magnified by earning MVP honors in the FACA North-South All-Star games and earning a berth on the Florida team in the Sun Belt Classic against all-star teams from Oklahoma and California. He figures that, through the all-star, Festival and national junior process, he would play at least 25 games.

''I figured three years in the minors riding buses,'' Roberts said, ''where I could be in college traveling first class, and after three years of college, I'd still have the same opportunity in the draft.''

Roberts conceded the decision was difficult, ''especially when they started offering a lot of money. That really made it hard.

''But a big part of my decision was wanting to be a part of the College World Series, an opportunity to play in the Olympics. I can go to college and be a part of that and then go to the pros, but I couldn't go to the pros and be a part of it.

''This playing in Festival is one of the reasons I didn't go for the pros. Some people might not agree, but this was a great decision as far as I'm concerned.''

Weinke, for obvious reasons, has been compared to Walsh, who just signed a $4.1 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

But as far as Dan Denning, the North baseball coach here and Weinke's baseball coach at Cretin Derham, there is no comparison.

''Weinke's way better,'' said Denning, a legend in Minnesota coaching ranks who won four state baseball titles during the 1980s. ''Steve was my captain. He was so smart, like a college player among kids because he was so heads up.